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What are some hidden spots in Shinsekai that locals love? Haruki Kumagai, an area guide, gives us a 1-Day Local Tour of a secret Osaka known only to those in the know. Of particular interest is Shinsekai Market, which has experienced a boom in recent years.
Shinsekai is known as one of the best sightseeing spots in Osaka. Typically, you’d go from Shin-Imamiya Station or Doubutsuen-mae Station through Janjan Yokocho, climb Tsutenkaku Tower, eat kushikatsu (skewered pork cutlets)… In recent years, however, the Shinsekai Market, which stretches along the side of Ebisucho Station, has undergone a major transformation and is showing a lot of potential. You may have heard about it.
Shinsekai Market was established in 1916. At one time, after post-war reconstruction, it was a bustling shopping center with about 50 stores. However, due to Osaka’s aging population and other problems, it gradually became a shuttered street. Since around 2010, it has been used more and more as an event venue, and in 2012, the quirky Self Matsuri began, bringing Shinsekai into the spotlight.
Today, as a foodie district, the once-deserted area has come to life. This revival was spearheaded by Haruki Kumagai, who runs Imagination Pika Space in the shopping arcade. It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. Kumagai has ushered in a new era in Shinsekai shopping arcade. We asked him to tell us how an insider enjoys Shinsekai.
Guide
Born in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture. After working as a ceramic artist in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, he returned to his hometown after the Great East Japan Earthquake and engaged in reconstruction assistance activities. In 2012, he moved to Osaka and launched the Self Matsuri with his friends. In the same year, he opened “Imagination Pika Space” in a store that had been used as the festival office. He has been the owner of the store ever since. Additionally, he serves as the head of the Shinsekai Market Commercial Cooperative Association youth department and launched the “Shinsekai Market Stall Street Project” in 2022 as a producer.
Delicious, freshly made take-away from Meat Sakamoto!
The first restaurant we visited was Meat Sakamoto, located at the entrance on the Ebisu-machi side. It was established in 1910 and is truly a living embodiment of Shinsekai. Today, it mainly sells take-away items such as croquettes and other fried foods, beef cutlet sandwiches, and more. Although there is inevitably a line on weekends, this is a must-visit restaurant if you are touring Shinsekai Market.
This time, Mr. Kumagai chose the Tsutenkaku croquette, a specialty beloved by children and adults alike. The juicy minced meat is intertwined with the flaky potatoes, creating a deep, nostalgic flavor.
Another specialty we would like to introduce is the Special fillet cutlet andwich. When you hear that the price is 1,800 yen (tax included), you may think it’s expensive! But the best filet has been carefully selected by a professional meat chef. This juicy, tender, melt-in-your-mouth sandwich is well worth the price.
The ham cutlets and minced pork cutlets are also excellent and can be eaten at the storefront with beer! During busy weekends, wait times fluctuate throughout the day, so try coming back later if the wait is too long.
A store with everything from snacks to pickles, daily necessities to animal prints
There are currently 17 stores (union members) operating in the Shinsekai Market shopping arcade. Many of them have been in business for more than 100 years, and the general goods store Miyaura Iroiro SHOP is one of them. From cooking utensils to cleaning supplies, the store offers a wide variety of household products.
At this store, a device handmade by the storeowner’s wife, Hiroko, is installed in front of the store. It’s named “Hirokoda Switch,” after a certain TV program, and anyone can play with it freely.
The owner is the president of the Shinsekai Market Association, so he has been a great help to me on a regular basis. Most of the glasses and tableware I use in my store were purchased here.
Nakayama Kaho has been selling Japanese and Western confections since its establishment in 1914, and its specialty is sekihan (red rice cooked in the store). The handmade sweets are reasonably priced in the 200-yen range.
Whenever I have a craving for something sweet, I usually come here to buy a snack. My recommendation is the abekawa mochi. They say that the price has been raised a little recently, but it’s still very inexpensive. I really appreciate that they continue to make delicious sweets.
This is Yamadaya Shoten, a long-established pickles specialty store founded in 1914, the same year as Nakayama Kasho. The store offers a wide variety of pickled vegetables, including pickled plums, pickled senmaizuke (a type of pickled radish), mizu nasu (eggplant), and kimchi (Korean-style spicy pickled cabbage). The store also offers budget-friendly assortments, and many customers purchase pickles as gifts.
The pickle shop has been in business for over 100 years. It’s truly amazing that they put the perfect amount of salt every time! Check out the store’s Instagram for the recommended pickles of the day. Just looking at it is enough to whet one’s appetite!
Shinsekai Market is home to several century-old shops, as well as newer stores! Naniwa Komachi, a store specializing in animal-print clothing—considered by many to be the battle uniform of Osaka women—opened in 2010. The shop has become so popular that its products are now standard Osaka souvenirs, attracting not only middle-aged women but also young adults and men.
Although they’re closely associated with animal patterns, they also used to sell loincloths designed by Teruaki Takahashi, the owner’s son and a designer.
Imagination Pika Space, the heart of Shinsekai Market’s renaissance
Imagination Pika Space is owned by Mr. Kumagai. The space was temporarily used as an office for Self Matsuri, but after some twists and turns, Mr. Kumagai became the owner, opening it as an event space and bar in 2012. After temporarily closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it reopened, this time as a Chinese soba noodle restaurant. Although it was well received, Mr. Kumagai eventually closed the business because of the amount of prep work. In July 2022, the restaurant reopened in its current form, as a restaurant where you can enjoy photos and shisha.
Everyone was surprised at the change of direction from a Chinese noodle specialty restaurant to a photobook and shisha store. However, this idea was the brainchild of Mr. Kumagai’s friend Keita Kusaka, a photographer and copywriter.
When they were looking for a direction for the store, Mr. Kusaka pointed out that shisha and the Japanese word for photograph, “shashin,” sound similar. They immediately took to the idea and began preparing the space.
“As soon as the idea was solidified, Kusaka-kun bought 250 photo books, and we couldn’t back out anymore,” Mr. Kumagai told us with a laugh. In no time at all, one of the best shisha bars in the Kansai region opened in Shinsekai, offering a wide variety of flavors.
At first I thought, “I don’t like to jump on trends,” but after Mr. Kusaka showed me how interesting shisha was, I was completely hooked. Before opening, I asked Daichi Isogawa, who runs shisha bars in Tokyo and Hokkaido, to come in as a consultant and work with me to come up with flavors. I am confident in our taste!
A bustling weekend crowd! Enjoy drinking and walking at Shinsekai Food Stall Street
The Shinsekai FoodStall Street Project, spearheaded by Mr. Kumagai, began in 2022. Proposed as an easy-to-start business format, the project received a flood of about 90 applications for the initial two openings. Currently, the number of stalls stands at eight, mainly serving izakaya (Japanese style pub) fare. On weekends when all the stalls are open, they’re crowded with people from open to close. All of the stalls are handmade by Mr. Kumagai.
At first, I wondered what the reaction would be to the idea of renting out the space in front of closed stores, but everyone was willing to give it a shot, for which I am grateful. All of the food stalls are delicious, so please come and try them!
If you enjoy drinking at Shinsekai Market, there is one restaurant besides the food stalls that you should definitely stop by. Gonbei is famous for its yakisoba and udon noodles with plenty of offal, a popular add-in in Japan. Originally located under the elevated railway tracks in Shin-Imamiya Station, the restaurant was known as one of the three best hormone restaurants in Nishinari; however, due to the building aging, it was relocated in 2021. It is now a popular place in Shinsekai where you can get a quick bite to eat in the afternoon.
I have been going there since it was under the tracks, so when they moved it right in front of Pika Space, it was a dream come true! Now that it’s closer, I eat there once or twice a week.
Hostel and cafe THE PAX makes its mark on Shinsekai
If you are planning to take a 1-day tour of Shinsekai Market, you will want to make sure you have a place to stay. The first floor of THE PAX is a café and record store that serves banh mi as its signature dish The second and third floors are for guest rooms.
The owner, Saki Hamamoto, runs the guesthouse Yuen in the city’s Fukushima Ward. As a frequent visitor to Shinsekai, he feels a deep attachment to the area and had hoped to someday open another guesthouse here. At that time, he heard from an old acquaintance, Mr. Kumagai, about a vacant building and immediately decided to sign a contract. Today, the hostel is one of the most popular in Shinsekai: reservations are sometimes made months in advance.
The atmosphere around Shinsekai Market has changed dramatically since THE PAX was built. The accommodations are really comfortable, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of staying in the Shinsekai area! The brightness of the owner, Saki, may also be a factor that draws people here.
Take a break at Shinsekai Radium Hot Springs
After a long day of walking around, you may want to take a relaxing soak in a hot spring to relieve your fatigue. Opened in 1952, Shinsekai Radium Onsen was the first public bathhouse in Osaka to introduce a highly concentrated carbon dioxide spring and a bath with submerged radium ore to refresh both body and soul. The spacious bathrooms and open-air baths will surely make your trip a memorable one.
I often come here to soak in the baths. Even though the facilities are on par with a deluxe public bath complex, this onsen costs the same as a regular neighborhood bathhouse. The open-air bath is as spacious as that of a dedicated onsen hotel, with a Japanese garden in front of it and Tsutenkaku Tower towering above. You can’t beat the price and location.
A blissful dinner time in Hong Kong, Shinsekai’s top Chinese restaurant
After taking a bath at Shinsekai Radium Onsen, you feel refreshed and ready for dinner. The restaurant that you should visit here is Hong Kong, known as one of the best Chinese restaurants in Osaka. It was opened in 1969, and today the second-generation owner continues to dish up traditional tastes to local residents. It’s located right next to THE PAX introduced above—only in Shinsekai could you find a trendy cafe right next to a flavor-packed Chinese restaurant.
I started going to this place right after I came to live in Osaka, and it has become my soul food. I have never seen any fried pork as thick as theirs at any other restaurant! By the way, the origin of the name “Hong Kong” is actually said to be an abbreviation of the Japanese rendering of “Port of Kagawa,” because the owner’s family was from Kagawa Prefecture.
Extra: Other Shinsekai special spots outside the market
With over 100 years of history, Shinsekai is full of fascinating spots outside the market as well. If you enjoy Shinsekai Market and want to delve deeper into the city’s charms, please visit them.
This has been a 1-day tour of Shinsekai Market and the surrounding area. If south Shinsekai and Janjan Yokocho are famous Osaka landmarks, then the north side and Shinsekai Market are cozy streets with a human touch.
The variety of stores with attractions that deviate from standard tourist fare is a great way to get a feel for the breadth of Shinsekai’s past and present. If you’re planning to visit Osaka on a sightseeing tour, consider an itinerary centered around Shinsekai Market!
Photo：Ryohei Koga
Edit：Tomi Motelier (Human Editor)
*This article was migrated from “Shittonka Osaka.” The information provided is current as of February 2024 and may differ from current conditions. Please check the official websites of each store or facility for the latest operating hours and details.
